The Truth Will Set You Free
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Gold discovers that his nanny has been living a double life.


Gold stood practically paralyzed as the events of the morning replayed in his head. He had hired Lacey Richards to work for him 6 months prior and thought that he knew her well. She was a kind, gentle woman who was probably the best nanny he could've asked for in terms of his son. He knew he was falling for her, there was no doubt in his mind about that.

He wanted to do something nice for her, to pay her back for everything she had done for him over the past few months. She had decorated her room in his house to her liking and he decided to take a peek inside to get an idea of something he could buy to help it feel more at home.

That's where he saw the ID. Which to his surprise, didn't read Lacey Richards…instead, Belle French.

His heart sunk in his chest as he researched her. While Lacey Richards was a Yale graduate with a PhD in child psychology, Belle had dropped out of the university and was married. Her husband, Gunther, was a wealthy and well respected man. As far as he could tell, everyone assumed that Belle French was dead. Yet, he knew that she wasn't.

She had dropped his child off at school and was running errands for him.

Dear God, he had trusted her with his child. Baelen was the one good thing that he had in his life, he couldn't lose him. How could he have trusted her? How did she pass his severe inspection?

A part of him wanted to call the police and let them know that whatever was buried in the cemetery back in California was definitely not Belle French. At the same time, he found himself returning the phone to the cradle and waiting.

Lacey…no, Belle, would be home soon. And he hoped to hell that she had a good explanation for everything.

Belle made her way into the large pink house, a load of groceries into her arms.

"Mr. Gold," she called out. "Are you here? Your Cadillac is in the driveway, I thought you'd be at work by now." She made her way closer to the kitchen. "I could fix us some lunch, if you'd like…"

Walking in, she smiled as she settled the groceries down. Try as she might, she had fallen for Harrison Gold. He was a handsome man, a devoted father and overall kind individual. Who wouldn't be attracted to him? He was silent, so she went ahead to putting some of the groceries away.

"Did you hear my offer for lunch?"

"I'm fine, thank you…Belle."

She froze in place, swallowing. He knew. But how? Her mind raced and she cringed, remembering the night before. She had a few glasses of wine after putting Bae to bed and had been thinking about her whole life, taking out the few mementos she had left…including her ID. But how had he found it?

"You searched my room," she whispered.

Gold laughed, bitterly. "I didn't have to search. I went in there to…" He stopped himself from explaining why. "It doesn't matter, this is my home and it was out in the open."

Belle slowly turned around and saw the confusion laced with hurt in his eyes. "Did you look me up?"

"Yes and according to the state of California, you're supposed to be dead. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't call and tell them that's false."

"No, please." Tears clouded her eyes. "Don't tell anyone."

"What is going on here? Why did you lie to me? How did you fake your background? Why does your family think you're dead."

Belle let out a slow breath, sitting across from him. "When I married Gunther, things were good…at first. I soon realized he was a very powerful man and that he had secrets. If anyone stood in his way, they were taken care of. One night…" She shut her eyes in an attempt to keep the tears from falling. "One night, I came home and witnessed him killing his business partner. I was scared, so scared."

Gold felt his heart sink into his stomach. He wasn't sure if he could trust Belle, but hearing her speak, he knew she had to be telling the truth.

"I tried to leave before he saw me, to call for help, but he found me, threatened me. He told me that if I told a soul, no one would ever remember that Belle French had existed." Belle's eyes flickered open. "I talked to a cop friend, he had dealt with Gunther before. Any case brought up against him was thrown out. So, he…he helped me."

"Helped you fake your death?"

"Fake my death, come up with a new identity, the works. He found out about the job listing and said it'd be a good place to fit in. In small towns, everyone smiles at you from their fences, but they don't get invested in your life." Belle shrugged, a single tear falling down her face. "I hated lying to you, there were so many times I wanted to tell you the truth…"

"So, why didn't you? I'm a lawyer, Lacey…I mean, Belle. I could've helped you."

"Because then you'd be involved and you or Bae could get hurt."

"You don't think we're already involved by you working for me?" Belle averted her glance and he sighed, rubbing his temples. "If you had just been up front and honest…there is so much I could've done for you."

"I didn't need your help," she whispered. "I needed a fresh start."

"You needed to lie."

Belle sighed, biting her lip. "I understand that I'm fired now. I beg of you, just don't tell anyone. I'll talk to Graham, get a new identity. I can be out of here as soon as tonight."

She was going to leave, run. A part of Gold knew he should just let her. She had lied to him for months, had put him and his son at risk. If Gunther had found out at any time, he could've shown up and hurt all of them. There was no reason for Belle French to be anywhere near his life.

And yet…he loved her. He didn't want to lose her or see her go anywhere. As betrayed as he felt, as much trust that had been lost…he wanted to protect her.

"What else did you lie about?" Gold asked, quietly.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I really did go to Yale, I only dropped out with one semester left to marry Gunther. I love books and tea, I really did love the symphony we took Bae to." She softly smiled. "I'm still the woman you hired…just with a different name."

"You can stay," he said.

Belle raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Gold…"

"If you really are who you say, then running won't solve your problems. If anything, it'll just make you more susceptible to your husband's wrath. You need to stay here, with us. I can protect you."

"How?"

"I don't know yet. What I do know, is that you shouldn't be alone and you won't be anymore."

"But after all I did, I lied to you…"

"Yes and I'm not exactly thrilled with that. I'm not sure how much I can trust you…but I do care about you. And I don't turn my back on people I care about."

Belle let out the breath she had been holding in and the tears streamed down her face. Gold reached forward and took her hand. She knew it was more than she deserved in that moment and that he was risking everything, for her. The love she had for him was growing by the second.

"I still have to be Lacey," she whispered. "No one else can know."

"It'll be our secret."

"You don't have to do this…"

"I don't do anything I don't want to do."

She nodded and he slowly wiped her tears away. Gold didn't know what the next step was, but they could figure it out together.


End file.
